This session had been scheduled for a long time and we finally got together in a bright and sunny but chilly day!
The young woman was a trooper and never showed the goose-bump inducing weather. We went to a number of locations and she changed outfits in mom’s car on the way to each.
Clicking on the composites below will enlarge them full size.
As Covid restrictions continue, although easing a bit, I’m still carefully observing measures to keep clients safe in the studio. I’ve received my 2nd vaccination and also diligently clean surfaces as well as respecting personal distance as much as possible.
These three people were guests for head shot sessions and I’m sharing some of the results here.
Clicking on the composites below will enlarge them full size.
With warmer weather just around the corner I’m fielding requests for outdoor sessions. We’re not quite there yet but I should have some to show shortly.
While we wait for nature to catch up with our wishes I’ve been busy in the studio with a number of head shot and portrait sessions.
Here are some examples of results from the past few days.
Clicking on the composites will enlarge them full size.
Business is slowly picking up at the end of a cold and snowy winter.
I photographed this young woman in need of head shots and dragged a local guy down to the studio after he cleared my walks and driveway from what, hopefully, will be the last significant snow of the season.
Clicking on the composites will enlarge them full size.
My last blog post documented a session where I photographed a young couple who came into my studio looking for photos that would show their commitment to each other.. done on Valentine’s Day.
This post is from the very next session, a couple who have a long and loving history together.
They’re great people and since the husband is a photographer we got to use each other as sounding boards in some after session editing discussions.
Clicking on the composites below will enlarge them full size.
During a period of very cold temperatures outside I was privileged to be able to get into my warm studio with this great couple.
Snow and single digit temps were no match for their closeness.. a pleasure to be part of this shoot.
Clicking on the composites below will enlarge them full size.
With the daytime outside temperature in the low double digits I turned on the heater in my lower level studio and had a great session developing an acting portfolio.
Sometimes a session gets to be playtime because the client wants to get creative and this was one for sure. This young woman is aiming high and it was gratifying to be a part of her plan.
Clicking on the composites below will enlarge them full size.
Last November during a photo shoot I did some critical damage to my lower back bringing everything movement related to a screeching halt.
Supporting a heavy camera and lens put the point of balance directly over my lower left side and the pinched nerves were a graphic reminder of how fragile we are as biological entities. Suffice it to say, working has been a no go and I’ve been and will continue to be a regular at physical therapy twice a week since then.
Finally and cautiously.. ten weeks later.. I took my first job and although I knew I wasn’t back entirely I felt good that I was part of another family’s life when I met this senior on site an Huron High School to document his passage towards the next phase of his education.
He’s an incredibly bright young man and the session was great re-entry for me.
Clicking on the composites below will enlarge them full size.
It’s almost impossible to summarize this past year in any words that adequately describe the pain and uncertainty we’ve been subjected to.
Moment by moment we have been battered by another loss.
The loss of innocent belief that our way of life would keep on the path we thought we had set was a huge body blow that knocked many of us to the ground. The discovery of the depth of hate and anger lurking just beneath the surface manifesting in the loss of lives and disbelief of finding out how little we could rely on the institutions we set up to protect us and the flame of unrest setting friend and family against one another were cuts that went deep and bled hard!
At the same time the good surfaced as well.
I see daily posts on social media offering free food and clothing to those in need. Neighbors have stepped up to assist when made aware of desperation has set in due to Covid infection or financial collapse. While some families have been torn apart others have formed.
Yeast disappeared from the shelves as home baking underwent a resurgence and food sharing was, again, a way to serve and connect. Those who have sewing skills have filled a need with custom designed masks and returnables are regularly donated in bags at the doorsteps to help those whose income has dropped .. or stopped.
On a personal/professional level I’ve been out of work since mid November with a back injury incurred during a photo shoot and getting beaten up at my physical therapy sessions. I hope to be back working soon…. I love what I do.
So.. a new year is coming in a few days and I wish you all, my country, those who have supported me, those who have commented on my work and particularly those who have suffered loss.. a very happy, safe and healthy 2021.
Clicking on the composites of photos from 2020 below will enlarge them full size:
The sessions in this post are from a series of sister and brother (in that order chronologically) sessions for prospective modeling portfolios.
Each of them came into the studio a few times to allow for different backgrounds and looks. Genetics proved to hold true as there are a lot of physical similarities in the way they photographed.
One of the composites show the wider studio view and the finished version.
Clicking on the composites will enlarge them full size.
I’ve photographed this young woman before as a senior session then Covid hit and her graduation at the University of Michigan Stadium was cancelled.
Wearing her prom dress she posed in front of the stadium gates to document her success.
It was a fun shoot as the drivers passing by applauded, yelled encouragement and honked their horns in a wonderfully shared moment.
Also, on a very cold late autumn/early winter evening I photographed this family whom I’ve known for over three decades. The setting was the Ypsilanti Freight House. It was masks and coats on then a very hurried herding cats moment then back to the coats and masks while everyone made believe they were warm.
Clicking on the header photo as well as the photos and composites below will enlarge them full size.
We enjoyed a long stretch of good weather and it was great to be out in the sun and photograph some senior and family sessions. We shared the local parks with lots of late October-early November strollers.
Mixed with a few studio senior sessions it made for a very enjoyable late fall season!
Here is a collection of photographs taken in studio and Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor settings.
Clicking on the composites will enlarge them full size.
I’ve been grateful for our extended fall weather. We’ve been blessed with great seasonal color and warm sunny days so I’ve been busy photographing at local parks.
Also my studio time has been picking up as the need for head shots is increasing.
In this time of pandemic there are so many people in dire situations and I am very aware and very grateful to be busy and healthy.
Here is a selection of family and studio sessions.
Stay well and stay safe!
Clicking on the composites will enlarge them full size
I was privileged to have been invited to share the births of both of my friends’ children and just had them both into the studio for a “Yikes.. look at how they’ve grown” session. There are a couple of composites in this post showing them then and now.
Also I’ve included a series of a young woman surfer I photographed on a chilly day in Saugatuck this past September 13th. I don’t get to play with photography as much as I’d like, being busy working for hire so this was a welcome break from my normal days.
Clicking on the composites will enlarge them full size.
Still under pandemic restrictions in and out of the studio I photographed a one year old and did some senior photos.
It’s difficult to communicate when half your face is obscured… interesting how it’s all in the eyes.
Speaking of eyes these two, both the toddler and senior, did fine showing their personalities during all three sessions. The senior sessions were done half in studio and one week later at a great park I never knew existed.. one more place to use as background.
Clicking on the composites will enlarge them full size.
Those of you who have followed this blog page know I make a yearly pilgrimage to Oval Beach at Saugatuck, Michigan to visit the site where we spread my late wife’s ashes. Our anniversary was September 13th and I’m there every year.
This year’s visit was sort of a metaphor for the state of the country as well as my state of mind lately.
People browsing the shops and eating places were trying to have a good time while masked and a gathering at a waterside restaurant had a very large group celebrating in close quarters with not a mask to be found while passersby looked on and shook their heads.
Shoreline erosion is severe leaving 20 foot cliffs where there were step ups that were one to two feet high just a few years ago.
The sun struggled to be seen from behind clouds that were not in the weather predictions finally making an appearance just in time for the beach goers to get the show they’d been hoping for.
I’m glad I went as I got some sorely needed time to reflect on the year behind me… some good and some not so good but I’m still here and the waves keep breaking on the shore.
Here are some photographs taken at sunset.
Clicking on the composites will enlarge them full size.
Lately there is an increasing need for head shot sessions. People are moving from long term employment and searching for new opportunities, applying for medical residences, undergoing personal change and running for office in local races.
Here is a small collection from the last week or so.. more to come.
Clicking on the composites will enlarge them to full size.
The stay at home order has been rescinded but there are still good reasons to be careful. The virus still invades every aspect of our lives and de-stressing is a major mission.
There have been parties and gatherings that have spread the infection and although my studio is now open it’s with huge changes that are designed to not add to the problem.
I’m now masked and gloved when photographing real estate listings as there are sometimes families there in close proximity to me. To lessen the awkwardness I joke that I feel like a bank robbing proctologist… funny in a sad way.
With the closing of a number of businesses there is a need for headshots as many people now find themselves in job search mode with very outdated images.
Due to the run of good weather it’s been a great chance to photograph families and headshots outside as well as in.
Here are some samples. Clicking on the composites will enlarge them full size.
The past few blog posts were under the shelter at home rules and now we are back out and trying to make sense of it all.
The Covid infection rate fell and now seems to be rising again as there have been large gatherings ignoring the new reality of life under pandemic.
I’m, at least for now, back to photographing people as well as real estate listings. My studio is open on a limited basis.. I wear a mask and try diligently to be mindful of physical separation to the extent it’s possible.
I’m seeing an increasing number of requests for headshots as many businesses are in a state of flux and people are updating LinkedIn profiles. Good for me, scary for the economy.
The composites here reflect studio as well as outdoor headshots plus a great family session here in Ypsilanti’s Riverside Park.
Clicking on the composites will enlarge them full size.
Stay well and stay safe!
The shelter at home order has been extended once more and I’m starting to look like that guy you don’t want to run into in a dark alley.
Like many photographers who ceased business at the beginning of this process I have now run out of studio work and have only myself to use for practice, hence the header photo.
Ypsilanti seems to be holding up well and there have been more inventive ways to burn off energy surfacing. The on line cooking videos continue, people are sharing resources and yeast is a hot commodity. One household posted Monty Python derived signs proclaiming the frontage of their home a zone of silly walks and the photos posted from their front window bear out how wonderfully funny passersby can be.
I went back to some older photos I haven’t shared in a long time..performers I’ve been able to photograph up close, sometimes from on stage.
Martha Reeves (her brother, Benny, looks cool in crowd reflecting shades), LP. a singer many of you may or may not know.. she totally rocked her downtown concert. Laith Al-Saadi, Michelle Chamuel and Joshua Davis were all contestants on The Voice in different seasons plus Theo Katzman who lived in Ann Arbor for a while and whose latest album was released early this year.
Clicking on the composites will enlarge them full size.
As always, stay safe!
